Document and Results Routing Optimization Address-level Delivery Method (Action May Be Required)

On August 25, 2024, Alberta Health Services (AHS) Connect Care will be able to deliver more clinical documents and results to specific provider locations (typically where the patient was seen, rather than a default provider address). This may affect results delivery settings for some providers.  

Providers working at more than one health service location have been contacted with a request to verify their primary or default clinical address. In addition, prescribers are asked to confirm delivery methods for any additional practice locations. (Note: To have this change in effect on August 25, change requests must be received by AHS by August 19; change requests submitted later will be processed as soon as possible.)

Most prescribers are not affected. However, mixed-context providers (using Connect Care at AHS facilities and a different record of care elsewhere) will be able to choose a primary results delivery address other than the default Connect Care In Basket. If activated, this option causes results for tests ordered when working at AHS (currently received via Connect Care In Basket) to be sent to the alternate primary location. Results are always available in Connect Care. 

To choose a routing preference, prescribers should consider where results should be received if a test requisition does not include a service location. In most cases, the best primary location will be where most clinical work is done. For providers that work at AHS and elsewhere equally, the best primary delivery location may continue to be Connect Care In Basket. The system will use a patient's relationship with a primary care provider to help redirect information to where the patient was seen.

This change is one in a series of results delivery optimizations. Prescribers may continue to receive some duplicate results, but these should arrive at the most appropriate location. Future enhancements will significantly reduce duplicate result deliveries. 

For more information, see the Connect Care Results Routing Optimization Overview. 

• Support: Call the AHS Provincial Service Desk: 1-877-311-4300 (select option 1 for Clinical Applications, then option 1 for Connect Care; have your PracID available).
• More information: FAQ: Document and Results Routing Optimization Address-level Delivery Method (Specific to Provider Location/clinic)
• To request a copy of your “Confirm your results delivery methods & locations” letter: Email resultsrouting@ahs.ca. Include your name, provider ID and clinic address(es). 

Community Providers - Take Action to Receive Results without Delay

All lab and DI sites and services in Alberta Health Services are now using Connect Care. Make sure all pertinent information is included on all lab, microbiology, pathology and imaging requisitions to ensure you receive your results without delay. Check out this infographic checklist to find out what is needed.

• Infographic: Take Action to Receive Results without Delay 
• Questions: ccproviderbridge@ahs.ca 

Delivery of Lab Results - Please Use Provider and Submitter IDs on All Requisitions

Providers in the community who order lab tests or submit specimens for testing need to take action to ensure they receive these results. If requisitions are incomplete, patients could receive results before their providers. 

Every requisition given to a patient or sent with a specimen (including microbiology and anatomic pathology) needs to contain the authorizing provider’s full name, the clinic name, address, and submitter ID, plus the provider ID for the authorizing provider. 

For more information see: 

• Resource: To Receive Lab Results Use Provider & Submitter IDs on Requisitions

Connect Care Launch 6 – Important Information for Community Providers

Connect Care Launch 6, scheduled for May 6, 2023, will include 68 urban and rural sites in North, Edmonton, Central, Calgary, and South Zones. This launch will also implement Connect Care at all laboratory services in Calgary Zone, community lab services in South Zone and the Provincial Laboratory for Public Health (ProvLab). All community providers in Alberta need to act so that laboratory, diagnostic imaging, and other investigation results and reports are delivered to your office.  

How can you help?

• Know your Connect Care IDs (provideridlookup.ahs.ca)
• Use Connect Care IDs on all lab/DI requisitions 
• Update AHS if contact/eDelivery information changes or providers join or leave your clinic (ahs.ca/frm-21762.pdf)
• Note: If you work at more than one clinic, courtesy copies (cc:) and some documents may only go to the default location 

For more information: 

• Read: Connect Care Launch 6: What Providers in the Community Need to Know about Delivery of Lab and Imaging Results 
• Visit: ahs.ca/ccresultstocommunity
• For support, call 1-877-311-4300
• Have your prac ID ready 
• Select option 1 (Clinical Applications), then option 1 (Connect Care)

Connect Care Launch Sequencing Update and Identifiers on Lab Requisitions - Important information for community providers

Connect Care continues to be one of Alberta Health Services’ highest organizational priorities. Upcoming launch dates have been confirmed, as follows:

• Launch 4 - May 28, 2022: Sites in Calgary and Edmonton Zones
• Launch 5 - November 6, 2022: Sites in Calgary, Central and North Zones; some provincial programs (including Cancer Care Alberta)
• Launch 6 - Spring 2023: Calgary and provincial lab services; sites in Calgary, Edmonton and Central Zones

AHS’ executive leadership continues to monitor the situation related to managing COVID-19, and should these dates change, the information will be shared through usual AHS channels. The final implementation, Launch 9, is scheduled for Fall 2024. Connect Care is already being used in parts of the Edmonton and North Zones. Additional information about which sites are included with each Connect Care launch is available here. 

All community providers in Alberta need to act so that laboratory, diagnostic imaging, and other investigation results and reports are delivered to your office. As of February 2022, Connect Care identifiers have been distributed to providers and clinics throughout Alberta, via letter mail. To confirm Connect Care IDs for providers and clinics, please visit: provideridlookup.ahs.ca. 

Please start using Connect Care IDs immediately and continue to also include non-Connect Care IDs on requisitions.

Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL), DynaLIFE and AHS Diagnostic Imaging (DI) have all introduced requisitions that include space for Connect Care and other current (“legacy”) healthcare identifiers. Please use the current requisition forms (updated in 2020), and provide current identification information, legacy IDs (e.g., Millennium ID) AND new Connect Care IDs on requisitions. For more information, please see: Using Connect Care IDs on Laboratory and Diagnostic Imaging Requisitions.

To facilitate results delivery, providers are also asked to maintain updated practice, demographic and clinic information with AHS using the Request for Provider/Prescriber Set-Up in Health Information Systems form.   

For more information:

• Delivery of Results to Community-based Providers from Connect Care: ahs.ca/ccresultstocommunity 
• Connect Care ID Look-up tool: provideridlookup.ahs.ca 
• Connect Care Information for the Community: ahs.ca/ccproviderbridge 
• Connect Care Information: ahs.ca/connectcare
• Resource: What Community Providers Need to Know for Connect Care Launch 5

Connect Care Launch 4 - Electronic Documents and Results Delivery to Community Providers

AHS uses a system called "eDelivery" to electronically deliver patient information to providers and physicians at their private community practices. With Connect Care Launch 4, there have been changes to the information distributed to providers. Providers who work at AHS facilities using Connect Care as well as at private clinics/offices in the community will want to understand these changes. 

These changes affect the six types of Connect Care summative notes as well as results for lab, diagnostic imaging (DI) and other investigations. A memo summarizes the changes for the delivery of this information from Connect Care to community providers; the key messages are:

• All providers will receive copies of summative notes in their external electronic medical record (EMR) when they are identified as the Primary Care Provider (PCP) for a patient; sometimes you may receive information for a patient not associated with you or your clinic – you can follow up with AHS to remediate this situation. 
• Authoring providers in Connect Care will receive copies of summative notes they author at AHS facilities in their external EMR. 
• Mixed-context providers (working in AHS facilities as well as at private clinics/offices in the community) may receive some community DI reports twice (in their Connect Care In Basket as well as at their non-AHS locations).
• Additional information specific to DI report delivery for mixed-context providers is available in an earlier memo.
• All summative notes and results are available in Netcare.

For more information, please review the full memo:

• Memo: Connect Care Launch 4 Electronic Documents and Results Delivery from Connect Care to Community Providers 

Connect Care Identifiers on Lab Requisitions - Important information for community providers

Connect Care Wave 3 launches in less than a week, with key lab services at Alberta Health Services North Zone sites moving to Connect Care laboratory information services. This has implications for providers who do not use Connect Care as their record of care, as well as for providers in an interim state awaiting a future Connect Care launch (e.g., Cancer Care in NZ). 

All affected community providers are alerted to action needed to ensure that investigation results and reports are delivered correctly. This involves: 

• Use of Connect Care identifiers on requisitions
• Use of updated requisitions to order laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging

For more information: 

• FAQ: Connect Care Identifiers
• Presentation: Connect Care Identifiers
• Contact: ccproviderbridge@ahs.ca

Important Information for Primary Care and Community Providers related to the impact of Connect Care: Connect Care Identifiers

Connect Care will launch Wave 3 at select sites in the Calgary and North Zones on February 27, 2021. All community providers in Alberta need to take action so that laboratory, diagnostic imaging, and other investigation results and reports are delivered to your office. As soon as you receive notification from Alberta Health Services (AHS), you need to: 

• Use Connect Care identifiers on requisitions
• Use updated requisitions to order laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging

If your practice uses eDelivery for electronic delivery of results to your EMR, please confirm with you EMR vendor that your new identifiers have been uploaded to your EMR. If you do not use eDelivery, new Connect Care identifiers are being distributed by mail to your clinic before the Wave 3 launch. These identifiers must be placed on updated lab and diagnostic imaging requisitions so that results are successfully routed to community practices.

Community healthcare providers continue to use their existing Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and other processes to manage patient information that is not part of the AHS record of care.  Community practitioners are a huge part of any person’s care team -- thank you for learning about Connect Care and supporting patient care across Alberta.

For more information: 

• Wave 3 Connect Care Identifiers (November 2020)
• ahs.ca/ccproviderbridge

Contact Connect Care: ccproviderbridge@ahs.ca  

Update your provider information with AHS: AHS.Provider_Requests@ahs.ca 

FAQ Update: Results Routing for Prescribers Working at Multiple Sites

Connect Care eDelivery Results Review

The launch of Connect Care on November 3, 2019 includes launch of an integrated laboratory information system that replaces a number of aging systems. Many laboratory test results will be sent to non-Connect Care Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) from the new clinical information system (CIS).

As with any change there is always the chance for unexpected challenges. For example, with provincial standardization of test names and normal ranges, some reports may look a little different from the past. It is important to be aware of this in the weeks immediately following November 3 and to be extra vigilant about ensuring that expected results make it back to the right chart in the right way. An update goes into more detail, offering a variety of additional sources of help:

• Update: Connect Care eDelivery Result Review

FAQ: Results Routing for Prescribers Working at Multiple Sites

Results and Reports Routing - Multisite

Prescribers who order laboratory tests, diagnostic imaging (DI) and other interventions from more than one practice location (site) will need to understand how the associated results and reports are returned for their review once the Connect Care clinical information system (CIS) is implemented.

We previously posted answers to questions for prescribers who use a single Electronic Medical Record (EMR) in a single practice location; a relatively straightforward use-case.

A new FAQ addresses more complicated information flows, such as those affecting physicians who work with more than one EMR, more than one practice location or a mix of EMR(s) and the Connect Care CIS.

• Briefing: Results and Reports Routing
• Backgrounder: Results and Reports Routing
• FAQ: eDelivery (Results Routing)
• --> FAQ: Results and Reports Routing (Multisite)

Connect Care Results and Reports Routing

The Non-AHS Community Physician Advisory Group (NACPAG) has been busy working through anticipated Connect Care impacts on test results and reports routing to ordering providers.

Two communication aids emerge. The first, posted here, answers questions for prescribers who use a single Electronic Medical Record (EMR) in a single practice location; a relatively straightforward use-case. eDelivery of results and reports to the EMR is maintained. Indeed, it is improved in many ways. There are changes to identifiers added to laboratory requisitions which are important for physicians to prepare for. An "eDelivery Frequently Asked Questions" is linked below and will be sequentially posted to this blog.

A second FAQ will address more complicated information flows, such as those affecting physicians who work with more than one EMR, more than one practice location or a mix of EMR(s) and the Connect Care CIS. Coming soon.

For now, please promote this blog and widely circulate the FAQ:

• Briefing: Results and Reports Routing
• Backgrounder: Results and Reports Routing
• --> FAQ: eDelivery (Results Routing)

How will Connect Care relate to Electronic Medical Records?

Alberta Health Services (AHS) strives to support the information sharing needed by the patient’s entire healthcare team, within and without Connect Care.

The electronic medical records (EMRs) relied upon by healthcare providers outside Connect Care settings must not be negatively impacted as Connect Care rolls out. Instead, the clinical information system (CIS) should expand opportunities for safe and effective information sharing. There are a number of ways for external systems to leverage the benefits of Connect Care.

A continuing eDelivery service brings laboratory test results, diagnostic imaging reports and other important information to EMRs in ways that allow the right information to be correctly placed in the right chart. Connect Care will make eDelivery easier by standardizing and simplifying the source for much of this information. Physicians currently receiving any form of eDelivery will be able to access a wider range of tests, reports and notifications as Connect Care rolls out. This is facilitated by AHS and the EMR vendors, so there is no need for physicians to request any expansion of eDelivery services. Physicians new to or seeking eDelivery can learn more online.

The Central Patient Attachment Registry (CPAR) and Community Integration Initiative (CII), are joint undertakings of Alberta Health, the Alberta Medical Association, and AHS; allowing EMRs to send and receive standardized summaries of patient needs with the Alberta Netcare provincial electronic health record. In time, Connect Care will also interface to CII and both draw from and contribute to CPAR data.

• FAQ: Evolving Alberta Health Information Landscape